An Unlikely Team
by AryaTT
Summary: Gray and Erza are ordered to dispose of some looters outside of town, but that's not the hard part. Gray and Erza have to learn to stop fighting long enough to work together if they want to make the guild proud. Gray is determined to not let Erza boss him around anymore, while at the same time he finds himself breaking down Erza's mental shields, one piece of armor at a time.


I groaned inwardly as Gramps gave out his orders.

A new band of thugs have been moving up the coast in the past month or so, ransacking little villages along the way. Normally, we would let the local militia deal with this type of thing, but rumor has it that the last major town they were in, they added some wizards to their numbers and are now causing even more destruction. If they follow the path they've been taking, Magnolia should be their next stop and Gramps isn't waiting for them to come to us. He has ordered me and Erza to intercept them outside the city and deal with them quickly and efficiently. Personally, I think this sounds more up Natsu's alley then my own, but since he and Lucy went off on some monster-fighting job yesterday near Clover town, they won't be back for at least a couple days and the thugs will no doubt be in the city by then, making them harder to track down..

I glance at Erza from the corner of my eye. She's nodding vigorously at gramps and probably already forming a plan of attack in her head.

"You'll head out before sunset, intercept them at their camp, and bring them back here by morning. And try to be quiet about it," gramps says with a pointed look at me. I smirk.

"Yes, sir. There's nothing to worry about," says Erza and then gestures me to follow her outside. I nod to the master and follow Erza into the street outside the guild hall.

It's mid-afternoon and people are milling about everywhere, savoring the cool breeze after the heat wave that hit the city last week. I let myself enjoy the kiss of the wind on my face for just a moment before giving Erza my full attention. She's leaning against the wall of the guild hall with her arms folded, not even acknowledging the wind that's blowing her fiery hair into her face. Sometimes, I wonder if she ever allows herself to relax.

She launches into her orders the moment I finally make eye contact. "First, we should gather provisions. Some food and a sleeping roll mainly. We'll meet at the southern entrance in an hour and then stake out their positions. Don't be late." She turns to stride away, but I can't resist a jab.

"You do know I can plan too? I've planned my share of solo jobs and they've all gone just fine. We're supposed to be working as a team, equals, not leader and follower. If you would trust me enough to do more than just 'pack food' I might surprise you." I don't know where all of that came from, but suddenly I'm nervous and I don't know why. It reminds me of the time she beat the crap out of me when I was ten because I wouldn't play with her. She has the same look in her eye that dares me to say another word. I must have a death wish or something because I feel my mouth opening to continue my rant when she sighs, blowing the hair away from her face.

"I know you're a capable wizard, Gray. I'm not trying to talk down to you or tell you what to do. I just have a set plan for how I want things to be done and it's hard for me to change it. I'm sorry." She says this all with resignation, like she knows what she's doing but has never actually admitted it to anyone before . I can't remember the last time I heard her apologize to anyone and I know I should say something but I'm too stunned to speak and when I finally open my mouth again, i'm surprised by the harshness in my own words. "You could start by listening to my suggestions for a change." It takes all my will to not immediately apologize to her because for once I feel the need to stand my ground. I'm fully ready for her to kick my ass and I almost think I deserve it, but she just nods.

"We'll discuss strategies on the way to the dorms then. . .alright?"

I noticed how she phrased this as a question, asking permission at the end of what otherwise would have been an order. I chuckled before I had time to hold it in and began walking in the direction of the dorms, leaving a bewildered Erza behind me. It wasn't long before she recovered and jogged the few feet I had gained on her.

"What's funny,' she demanded.

"Was that really the best you could do? You can't stop barking orders for two minutes, can you?" I laugh fullon this time and am surprised when Erza adds a chuckle of her own. _It's a start,_ I think to myself.

During the short walk from the guild hall to the dorms, I tell Erza my ideas about the best place to attack and how we should go about it. Unsurprisingly, she shoots down almost all my suggestions. Our "discussion" quickly turns into a heated argument with neither one of us willing to compromise. Erza fights me on every point I make and forces me to prove why my plan is better than hers. The second I fail to respond, she jumps in with why her idea is so much better. It isn't until we are outside the dorms that I manage to one-up her, pointing out a major flaw in the scouting spot she had hand-picked out. I would be lying if I said I didn't relish in the shock that crossed her face when she realized her error.

"Fine," she said curtly, "we'll use your location and my plan of attack."

I almost wooped with joy. I had actually gotten Erza, the Titania, Queen of the Faeries, to relinquish some control over a mission. She didn't seem too happy about it either as she stalked off towards the girls' dormitory, the girls in her path knowing her well enough to get out of her way when they sensed her mood.

I turned towards my own dorm and hurried to pack my bag. Something told me that Erza wouldn't wait long, if at all, if I was late.

As soon as I entered the dormitory's main room, there was a huge crash from upstairs, followed by some loud shouts. I tried to ignore it and continue on to my room, but, just my luck, the fight was happening in the room right across from mine. I ducked as a chair flew out of the open doorway.

"What the hell," I cursed.

I stepped into the room to find Laxus and Freed facing each other. Freed's whole body was tense and his lips were only a thin line while Laxus appeared relaxed, leaning against the wall with his shoulders crossed, but his eyes gave him away when he shot a glare my way. There was a fire behind his eyes that told me he was pissed. The room was a mess, all the furniture either broken or flipped over. I wondered which one of them was responsible for the most damage. The Master was going to flip when he sees the property damage. Ignoring Laxus's fiery gaze, I stepped over a chair that had snapped in two and entered the room.

"Can't you two be considerate enough of the rest of us to have your lover's spat behind closed doors. The whole guild doesn't need to know your latest screw-up, Laxus," I rolled my eyes dramatically. The molten anger in Laxus's eyes could have melted this entire room. It felt good to be able to get under his skin for once. Laxus's was rarely this easy to manipulate emotionally. It must have been a pretty serious fight.

Laxus waved his giant fist menacingly at me. "Shut your mouth, you hypocrite."

"Hypocrite? I…." He cut me off before I could finish.

"That's right. We could hear you and Erza going at it from a mile away."

I fought against the red blossoming on my cheeks at his innuendo. "At least we had the decency to do it outside and _our fight_ didn't result in a room full of broken furniture."

He shrugged as if to say it couldn't be helped.

I turned to Freed who had stayed silent throughout the whole exchange and found his eyes still glued to Laxus. Whatever they were fighting about, Freed's gaze told me it wasn't nearly over and that he would wait until I left the room to resume their squabbling. I glanced once more at Laxus, who had now turned his glare on Freed, and then picked my way out of the room.

"Just try not to break anymore chairs," I threw over my shoulder before opening my own door across the hall. I could have sworn I heard Freed mutter no promises before I closed the door to my room.

Doing a quick sweep with my eyes of the clothes littering my floor, I grabbed a shirt and pants that looked moderately clean and smell-checked them as I made my way to the closet, kicking piles of clothes out of the way as I went. After wrestling my sleeping bag from where it was wedged between a shelf and the wall, I shoved the clothes and sleeping bag into a pack that I found peeking out from underneath my bed. I also grabbed an opened bag of chips off my bed and shoved them in the pack before leaving.

"Food. Check," I muttered under my breath.

The door across the hall was no longer open and I could feel a magical barrier surrounding the room now, blocking out any sounds. Freed must have placed one of his enchantments, but before I could ponder the implications too much, I glanced at the clock hanging from the wall. _Crap!_ Only five minutes until I had to meet Erza on the other side of town.

I started sprinting.


End file.
